An Overview of What's Happening
This is where you’ll find our official updates. The information available here provides a transparent look at the work, pace, and forward momentum of Melted Crayons Mission.
Latest Briefings Released On: Tuesdays and Fridays
Latest Operations Data Released On: Tuesdays
Latest Briefings - Subscribe for New Releases
Hello, and welcome to our latest briefings on what's happening in and around Melted Crayons Mission. Each Friday, we provide updates on the progress, current events, worthwhile concerns and milestones of the MCM.
Friday - April 18th, 2025
Very excited that we got our first 2 supporters for the Melted Crayons Mission today! We're certainly moving forward with the needed momentium that will make a difference.
Easter is just 2 days away and we're ready to hand out some art supplies to kids and parents for the 2nd year! Many more to come.
Past Briefings
Friday - April 11th, 2025
Jeffrey Alumbaugh / Founder
The Final Backdrop. Forward Focus, and a Sad Loss.
(2 Min Read)
Hello, and welcome to Melted Crayons Mission's briefing. Busy, busy. And that's the way we like it—except for some things that sadly happen. Here's an overview...
It's been interesting. In fact, this briefing goes back to the evening of April 4th, just hours after last week's update, when an old music video by John Fogerty came on. I've always liked it, but this time, it sparked an idea. It's a bit crazy, but fun for a lot of kids helping, and if done right, it'll set a new world record and put it in the GBWR, possibly with local media coverage to boot, which means more opportunities to help kids beyond the event with the event's community support. Logistics and research are underway. We'll go all-in after Easter.
Saturday brought another wave of momentum, along with an opportunity to hand-build some small countertop donation boxes. This idea also popped up out of nowhere, so we ran a quick test. It generated $30 in early donations toward the promo box build and gave us a small boost to carry the project forward a bit. It's going to make a difference by helping kids feel a bit of relief after they lost their home in a fire.
We're anxious to fully ramp up the monitoring and respectful approaches to families with kids who lost their home and belongings. We did reach out to two families this week after a small handful of days had passed since they experienced their home fire. We're waiting for the replies, and we realize that they don't always happen. It's a hard time for those families, but we do try to help in a goodwill fashion for the kids, and it helps the parents, too.
There was also a sad moment this week. I was scouting potential sponsors in the BMX racing world and came across an article saying Derek Brown had passed away. Long story short, I used to race BMX bikes and did pretty well—made my way to the top 10 in Denver and got to hang out with the top dogs on and off the tracks. Derek was one of them at the tracks. A very long time ago, I remember seeing his racing photo and reading about him in a The Denver Post article shortly before my first Denver-area race, and I viewed him as a celebrity of sorts. I was a kid, and was a little starstruck when I saw him in person for the first time. I'm glad we ended up hanging out. I'm glad we were friends, and I'll always keep that memory.
Back in the shop, I wrapped up what may be my last painted stage backdrop for awhile. I've painted hundreds of them, many for famous bands, and once in a while I still bring one in when necessary or when I've got the fever to paint. But honestly, I don't see the benefit in doing many more. Ironically, this final painting before the backdrop pause featured flames. It could be a sign. And I believe in certain signs.
Thanks again for being here. See you next Friday.
~Jeffrey Alumbaugh
Friday - April 4th, 2025
Jeffrey Alumbaugh / Founder
A Family's Incident and an Animation Launch
(2 Min Read)
Hello, and welcome to this week's briefing. Not a lot of activity, but what did happen was good. Here's an overview...
On Sunday the 30th, The 2nd Annual Easter Day Crayon Giveaway – Krayons to Kids In Kars animation was launched to our small audience of friends and family! It received warm welcomings, and we appreciate that. This event idea came up quickly, and we realize we’re reaching for something a bit more involved—with a moderate investment requirement to make it presentable on a busy corner. While all funding relies entirely on community help, we're going to do our best with what we’ll have to work with, alongside some decisions to be made as the time draws nearer. If we can't pull off the corner production, we have a back-up plan so that Easter doesn't slip by without us giving out crayons to kids.
While surfing for recent home fire incidents, we came across a post from a dad of four on a page we follow. He shared that he’s been displaced, with nothing on hand for the kids or himself. We messaged for a bit and ended with a plan for the art supply delivery. That’s what it’s all about, and that’s what we intend to do.
Thanks!... and we’ll be back here next Friday. Have a great and colorful weekend.
~Jeffrey Alumbaugh
Friday - March 28th 2025
Jeffrey Alumbaugh / Founder
Animation, Conversations, and a Little Nostalgia
(1 Min Read)
Hello, and welcome. This 2nd official week had the activities that made a difference resulting in moving forward.
All week, I crunched some computer graphic hours to get the 2nd Annual Easter Day Crayon Giveaway – Krayons to Kids In Kars animation done. It came out good, and I'm anxious to get it visible the best I can. I love doing animations, but they take time—especially since I do most of the work by hand, not with AI. There’s something rewarding about that process, even if it takes longer. It’s one of those “worth it” kind of things.
On Wednesday, I had a pre-arranged lunch with Tom Gormley, author of Inferno! And the Miracles of the Colorado Marshall Fire. It was a great time full of solid conversation and insight into the behavior, aftermath, and rebuilding of the burn area that spanned XXX acres. His work really brings to light the human side of fire recovery, and that was both helpful and inspiring to hear firsthand.
Some ties got a little cooler this week when I caught Smash Mouth’s “All Star” playing in a Candy Crush commercial. Smash Mouth was one of my favorite clients when I was painting backdrops. Having the actual backdrop that toured with the band during their All-Star era—the same song that landed in the Shrek movie—is a fun piece of history. They donated it back to me about a year ago so I could spread it out for kids to see during my guest presentations. It's one of those cool full-circle moments that blends music, art, and mission together in a way that only time can create.
That's a wrap for now! Check back next Friday for the next briefing! We're building a story.
~Jeffrey Alumbaugh
Friday - March 21st 2025
Jeffrey Alumbaugh / Founder
The Official Intro and Soft Launch
(2 Min Read)
Hello. My name is Jeffrey Alumbaugh. I am the founder of Melted Crayons Mission, and I welcome you to these briefings.
This briefing is probably one of the longest you'll see because it dives a bit deeper to help get you up to speed. Future briefings may also dip a tad deeper to reference my past or resume for credibility and bring understanding to something I imagine can happen. They will all be focused on what is current.
I considered doing two briefings per week, but I realized that one solid release every Friday morning will be more efficient, more meaningful, and hopefully more enjoyable to follow as they progress and accumulate into a story for public viewing. They will be first released on this page and then elsewhere with a slight delay.
Just a real quick glimpse back before I touch base on the briefing's current standing. I'm about 75% retired from painting large stage backdrops for many famous rock bands. That was a fun 14-year run that followed painting large commercial graphics for many high-profile corporations and organizations for another 14 years. Prior to that, I was involved with painting, building, and crew-chiefing racecars. Before that, I painted billboards in Las Vegas, which followed attending commercial art classes back when hands-on paste-ups were still valid and rewarding. Throw in art classes all through school with an emphasis on graphic-based designs, and all the elementary and younger artwork I still have... and you’ve got a long life of more than just art. It was a life built from the experiences that art and design provided.
Today’s pretty cool. It is not only the first official briefing from Melted Crayons Mission, it also marks the soft launch of the mission itself. And as a bonus? It happens to be my mom’s birthday. Happy Birthday, Mom!! Here’s to you, with love. 🙂❤️
Today’s soft launch didn’t come with streamers, confetti cannons (though that would be cool), or any loud announcement. But behind the scenes? It was buzzing. The past few weeks have been filled with productive progress directly related to MCM. We've been involved in trying out and launching apps in MCM's system while designing workflows for Melted Crayons Project. The research has been interesting and educational, and the workability has been consistently promising. A new, grassroots foundation is here, and it's under a mission structure that will be amazing.
This is a great opportunity for me to pay it forward. I've had it pretty cool my entire life, and not only do I want to, but I am also responsible to make sure that whatever I have to offer, gets offered.
So... hello, world. Let’s do this! And thanks again for being here.
Don’t forget, there’s a briefing every Friday.
~Jeffrey Alumbaugh
Latest Operations Data Releases
The figures below are based on key categories from IRS Form 990. We’ve simplified the layout to make it easier for our supporters to follow where funds are going and how they’re making an impact.
This information is public. Not only does this transparency fall under our own in-house guidelines, it also closely follows the rules and regulations for a registered 501(c)(3) organization.
Important Note: Our non-profit status is anticipated to be completed and registered within the first quarter of 2027. Slow, sure steps are vital, and we're thinking ahead for long-term success.
Melted Crayons Mission
Broomfield, CO.
Melted Crayons Mission is a project focused on providing new art supplies to children who recently experienced a crisis, with an emphasis directed towards home fires that destroyed all their belongings.
Latest Operations Data Releases
The figures below are based on key categories from IRS Form 990. We’ve simplified the layout to make it easier for our supporters to follow where funds are going and how they’re making an impact.
This information is public. Not only does this transparency fall under our own in-house guidelines, it also closely follows the rules and regulations for a registered 501(c)(3) organization.
Important Note: Our non-profit status is anticipated to be completed and registered within the first quarter of 2027. Slow, sure steps are vital, and we're thinking ahead for long-term success.
Melted Crayons Mission
Broomfield, CO.
Melted Crayons Mission is a project focused on providing new art supplies to children who recently experienced a crisis, with an emphasis directed towards home fires that destroyed all their belongings.
